The Best by Far is You
by persephoneapple
Summary: Out of curiosity, Harry asks Draco what he wants for his birthday. He's not prepared for Draco's answer- at first. Harry/Draco [AO3 tags: Happy Birthday Draco Malfoy, Wishes, Family, Established Relationship, Romance, Love, Mpreg]


**The Best by Far is You**  
 **Harry/Draco [G, 917 words]**  
 **Disclaimer:** JK Rowling and co own everything. I'm writing for fun and not for profit.  
 **A/N:** Unbeta'd. I've been without a muse and haven't written for a while. I thought about submitting this for **harrydracompreg** but decided against it. Hope you enjoy. Pure fluff and romance. Title comes from Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness' song, "Cecilia and the Satellite".

 **Summary:** Out of curiosity, Harry asks Draco what he wants for his birthday. He's not prepared for Draco's answer- at first.

* * *

The Best by Far is You

"Have you thought about what you want for your birthday?" Harry asks one night while they're eating dinner.

Draco keeps his head bowed and focuses on spearing ravioli onto his fork. He chews slowly, as if keeping his mouth full would excuse him from answering the question.

Harry waits a few minutes before asking again. It's still the same response.

"Draco?"

"Not really," Draco says at last. "I have it all: I'm obscenely rich, terribly handsome, and have the perfect boyfriend." He reaches across the table to squeeze Harry's hand.

"Oh," Harry says, surprised and pleased at Draco's words. "Well, then, I guess we proved Rita Skeeter wrong after all. Our life _is_ perfect." Harry smiles, until he notices that instead of smiling, Draco has a frown on his face.

"Draco, are you okay?" Harry asks, trying not to let the worry creep into his voice.

"Maybe we need-" Draco starts to say, then stops. "Never mind, it's a silly idea."

"No," Harry says, determined to give Draco anything he wants after that heartfelt declaration. "Tell me, please."

Draco looks at Harry, his grey eyes trying to discover if Harry is truly interested. Harry nods to encourage him.

"I would love to have a puppy."

"A puppy?" Harry repeats, frowning. Draco has never shown any interest in getting a pet in the nine years they've shared a flat.

Draco quickly nods, and whispers as if he's sharing a terrible secret. Harry has to lean forward to hear his next words. "I do get lonely when you're gone for months at a time on assignments. A puppy would be a nice distraction."

That is the last thing Harry expected to hear Draco say, so he's speechless for a moment. Draco's never mentioned the fact that he's lonely without Harry, yet he should have known. Draco's always there the minute Harry Apparates home, kissing him senseless as if to make up for lost time. He then ushers Harry into a tub for a warm bath followed by a hearty home cooked meal and wont rest until Harry is tucked in bed where he instantly falls asleep in Draco's arms.

"It's okay, Harry. I knew it was a terrible idea-"

"No!" Harry shouts and gets up to pull Draco into a kiss. For long moments there's nothing but the soft sounds of kissing that fill their flat and murmured words that fade like smoke the moment they're heard.

When they break away, Harry is grinning. "It's a splendid idea and I wish I had thought of it first. I would love to have a puppy in our home."

"Oh, good," Draco says, a smile on his face that makes him look so younger than his thirty-six years.

"Have you always wanted a puppy?" All that Harry remembers is the albino peacocks at the Manor and Draco's owl, Artemis, who's very old and sleeps all the time.

"For now," Draco says, but even Harry, who's often been told that he could be quite oblivious, can see that there's a hint of longing in Draco's eyes.

"There's something else, isn't there?" Harry wraps his arms around Draco's body and rests his head against his chest. "What are you so afraid of asking?"

Harry counts nineteen heartbeats before he hears Draco take a deep breath and whisper, "It's easier to ask for a puppy than a baby, don't you think?"

A thousand emotions pass through Harry's mind the time it takes to process those words. Surprise, shock, disbelief, and the ever present worry about whether he could be a good parent. Thankfully, those emotions are brief and give way to the many variations of joy, hopefulness, and excitement that fill Harry's body and threaten to burst out at any moment.

In the end, all Harry feels is the endless love for the man in front of him.

"Yes."

"What? Really?" Draco's voice cracks on those words, giving Harry all the confirmation that he is doing the right thing.

"I want a baby. And a puppy. Hell, even a unicorn if that's possible," Harry says, stepping backwards so that he can see Draco's face properly. There are tears that are threatening to fall down on Draco's face, and Harry brushes them away with trembling hands.

"You needn't be afraid to ask," Harry says, kissing him again because he can. "I would never say no. Not to that. I do want a family with you, Draco. Always."

Now that the seed is planted, it's all Harry can think about. He can just picture a blond haired baby with green eyes or a dark haired baby with grey eyes sleeping in his arms as he tells them about his day. He thinks of dirty nappies, of food spit all over his clothes, of endless screaming nights pleading for the child to sleep, of reaching certain milestones such as the baby's first word, its first attempts to crawl and walk, of its toothy grins, and pushing a pram through the park on sunny days with Draco by his side.

Harry wants to watch their child grow and to give him or her the childhood he or Draco never had. It will all be worth it even if it doesn't seem so at the time.

One thing he knows for sure is that they won't stop at one child. He and Draco have so much love to give that's it's impossible to just be a small family.

After all, it's the perfect ending that both of them deserve.


End file.
